Best BPALs for SUMMER - is it hot, sweltering, sticky outside?

[Ishianti]

Shanghai is lovely in the summer.

 

Actually I found Shanghai extremely humid and sticky in the summer...oh right, the scent.

 

I'll have to give this one a try. I just got an imp of Embalming Fluid a few days ago, that might work as well. I guess lemon might not attract too many bees. Kumiho sounds good too! Teas, yeah, that's a good idea.

[ffiferoo]

I haven't yet had the opportunity to wear it in summer yet, but Josie strikes me as a perfect summer scent. The first time I tried it on it was like being outside next to a peach tree right in the middle of summer. I love it!

[Wwindy]

I don't know how much help this will be on the bees and insects issue, but I *love* Litha '09 as a warm-weather blend. (the earlier Litha blend didn't work as well for me, but YMMV)

[MamaMoth]

I cannot wait to slather on some Hypothermia when the weather gets all yucky hot. It almost makes me look forward to summer, but not really.

[bonny]

black pearl is far and away my favorite summer scent, or for that matter my favorite summer-memories scent- i also wear it when the winter cold is really getting me down and i need to remind myself that it won't last forever. it's coconutty enough to remind me of tropical beaches and drinks with paper umbrellas, but the iris and musk keep it from being too sunscreenish.

[violetgrimm4]

I've started the crave fresher lighter scents maybe I'm trying to get ready for summer?

 

I love these in the hot weather:

 

Sailors den I this is clean coconut fresh cotton its like breeze in a bottle. Its like waking up on a tropical island with fresh white cotton sheets in a cabin by the beach witha gentil breeze blowing threw a cotton mosqito net..... Mmmm lovely!

 

Phantasum - my fella wears this a lot it very springy and fresh!

 

Embalming fluid. - I wore this a lot last summer very fresh perfect if I knew I was gonna go out for a day in the aprk and wanted to stay smelling fresh!

 

Strawberry moon 05. Mmmmmmm fresh field of very ripe strawberrys and greenery so pretty! ( The O9 version was just as nice but more like eating strawberrys on a freshly moan lawn)

 

 

 

 

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[sweetjane]

I second Embalming Fluid for the summer. This one lasts on me and the lemon/tea/white musk are not heavy. I've been wearing if for three years and have never gotten tired of it. I usually can only wear white musk as the others are obtrusive on me.

 

I just started wearing High Strung Daisies [Mad Tea Party] this winter, but I think she will transition beautifully to summer wearing also. It's daisies, pink pepper, pink carnation and sugar I think.

 

As for insects-I garden nearly every day in the summer. I haven't had a problem but I am also not allergic to bees or wasps.

 

Oh, for an early spring...it's zero degrees here today.

 

 

[sunshinedaisybliss]

It's summer time in this part of the world, and it's hot and sweltering and sticky outside

 

I like wearing That! The Terror From Over There in summer, it's just nice and fresh and cool, and I've also been enjoying The Girl and Vasilissa because they're nice 'pretty' blends.

 

But my all-time favourite summer BPAL is Snake Oil. The hotter it gets, the better it smells.

[Katherynne]

So, I was looking at my BPAL box today, dreaming of warmer weather and the impending spring, and I realized: all my stuff is heavy, or incense-y, or something I consider too overpowering in hot weather. I have maybe one or two scents that are appropriate in the summer!

 

And that just won't do. Last summer I didn't wear my BPAL much because of this, but I didn't do a thing about it. So! Lay it on me! What scents do YOU think are the best for hot weather and summertime? I'm thinking crisp, bright, cool.....

 

[Impious]

Well I'm only brand-spankin-new to Bpal and the forums, but I've come across a few so far that feel rather summery to me - which is good since it is summer in my part of the world! Although, I prefer the warm, spicy, snuggly scents - so I'm looking forward to winter!

 

If you can do the lemon thing, all these guys smell very fresh and summery to me (although lemon just doesn't work on my body):

Enbalming Fluid

Phantasm

Zephyr

 

Others I find bright and cheery:

The Unicorn

Cathode

 

And my favourite so far as far as summery smells go - Ya-Te-Vo it's really green smelling to me - but not tree/moss-like, more freshly clipped hedges and things like that.

 

<3

Edited March 10, 2010 by Impious

[wvgemini]

Does anyone enjoy wearing New Orleans in the Summer? I have an imp on order and I know (for myself) I tend to gravitate toward the smells that kind of match the summery sticky humidity. NO sounds like it would do that perfectly!

[Lit Chick]

In the oven like heat of AZ in the summer, my favorites are Aeval and Amsterdam.

[patina]

Does anyone enjoy wearing New Orleans in the Summer? I have an imp on order and I know (for myself) I tend to gravitate toward the smells that kind of match the summery sticky humidity. NO sounds like it would do that perfectly!

 

Yep. New Orleans won't exactly cool you down, but it does mesh well with hot days.

[ajwong755]

I found myself craving Persephone last summer.

[sunshinedaisybliss]

I know I keep banging on about how much I love Banshee Beat.. but.. right now on the gorgeous west coast of Australia, it's 38 degrees. Uh.. that's over 100F, I think. I dabbed some BB through my hair today (as well as on skin), so now when I walk around outside, I am surrounded by a cloud of warm and rich vanilla gorgeousness.. it's just fantastic.

 

I actually enjoy my BPALs more in summer, I think they smell the best on warm days (and warm skin). My other summer faves are Tombstone, Antique Lace, and Snake Oil. Clearly, I have a thing for smokey vanillas

[meaganola]

Summer for me means outdoor music and arts festivals (even though I rarely *go* to them, the mood is still there, and the mood is what drives scent selection for me), which in turn mean patchouli and incense, so Mme Moriarty is pretty much bottled summer. And Ravenous, which I actually had to put back the other day because it was *too* summery for me. And Masquerade, although there's enough other stuff in there that I can wear it year-round. Well, okay, by "year-round," I mean "any weekend," since I feel really weird wearing patchouli at work. If it was my old company, I wouldn't give a damn, but I'm temping now, and I have to be a little more restrained in my scent choices at work now.

 

And then there's and added fun part: When it's super hot, I have problems with scents. Except, as I discovered last summer, snow. Season of the Inundation and Moon of Small Spirits got me through an extended period of triple-digit weather (hey, I'm a native Portlander! We don't get that kind of weather very often! And by "very often," I think we broke forty-year-old records for high temps, including the all-time high temp). This summer, I have a few new options to add to the mix: Snowball Fracas, Ded Moroz, and First Soft Snow, although that one may turn out to be a bit too heavy on the non-snow notes for my purpose. On the up side, these scents are all so not-traditional-perfume-smelling that I don't feel weird wearing them to work, so that helps balance not wearing my beloved patchouli at work.

 

And then last summer, I went to see a certain band at a certain bar about once a month, and every single time, it was Snake Charmer, all the way. I heard a song by this band yesterday, and Pavlov would have been proud: All I could think about was slathering Snake Charmer, standing in the crowded dance floor an arm's length from the bar, and downing my third whiskey sour of the evening. And even though it's not summer yet, their shows are starting again in about a week and a half, so, yay, more Snake Charmer!

 

[theasylph]

As the weather gets warmer I anticipate wearing : Torture Queen, Et Lux Fuit, and Penis Admiration.

 

I think Penis Admiration spells SO pretty/floral/springy.

I love the clean-ness of Torture Queen.

Et Lux Fuit smells just like sunflower pollen to me... slightly sweet and spicy.

 

I'm debating on Embalming Fluid or Carnaval Diabolique too.

oh, I so look forward to summer.

[marared]

Embalming Fluid is good, but I actually went and bought myself a bottle of Kumiho to age a bit before the warm weather really kicks in, because I love the ginger kick to it.

 

The prototype Medb is also a wonderful springy/warm scent...

[superpopkid]

I'm impressed by those intrepid souls who can handle heavy musks and incense in temperatures above, oh, 70 degrees fahrenheit. I feel like I'm in the scent equivalent of a wool coat and muffler when I try it. Even vanilla can be too much. My favorites for hot and humid weather are citrus, mint and light green/herbal scents: Aizen-Myoo (yuzu tea,) Cathode (super-chilled mints,) and Kyoto (cherry blossom and anise.) I haven't had a chance yet to try Spinning Multi-colored Metallic Pinwheels in the heat, but I bet that metallic fruity-soda can thing is perfect to cool down with. Oh, and I'm looking forward to '09 Pumpkin III, too! Mmm, tomato leaf.

 

(This thread reminds me that I want to keep my oil in the fridge this summer. It'll be nice to apply chilled oil, I bet. Plus, um, I'm in an attic with no insulation. My room cooks and the BPAL really shouldn't!)

[meaganola]

I'm impressed by those intrepid souls who can handle heavy musks and incense in temperatures above, oh, 70 degrees fahrenheit.

 

Heh. The thing about summers where I live is that we don't have three months of oppressive heat. Sure, we had a stretch last summer where it went into triple digits, but that only lasted about a week. Our average highs in July and August are right around 80. Which is still hot for me, but if you have one day that hits 95, you have to have a day that only gets up to 65, if I'm doing the math correctly. This is actually why I have a mix of patch/incense stuff and snowy stuff: On mild days, I can hit the heavy stuff, and on the hot days, I can go all snowy. The average high in Orlando in December are the same as our average June high. What you can deal with in the summer probably depends on where you live!

[reconditarmonia]

What (GC/impable) scents would you recommend for summer that aren't fruity?

 

I might end up trying Kumiho/Embalming Fluid/Shanghai anyway, but I'd rather avoid aquatics and fruit.

 

For reference, King of Hearts is rose/lavender on me and feels very fresh, the sort of thing I would use when it's hot out, though I got it this past winter and don't know how well it will stand up to the heat. I'm also thinking Moon Rose and Psyche/Ode on Melancholy?

[chaismolokom]

Maiden is a good light scent for summer (white tea, carnation and Damask Rose). I also really like The Mock Turtle's Lessons (blurry aquatic notes, with a confusing, contrary splort of iris, ambrette, green apple, vodka, white mint and a squish of lime). It isn't super aquatic on me - I mostly just get the other listed notes.

 

ETA: Oh, right, apple and lime are fruits. FAIL, Chai. It might be exactly what you're not looking for. I'll leave it up, though, in the spirit of the thread. I'd also like to add The Coil, from the Steamworks line, if you don't mind ozone (ozone, eucalyptus and mint with purple orchid, passionflower, white ginger, and purple lotus).

Edited March 17, 2010 by chaismolokom

[mari4212]

reconditarmonia, In addition to Maiden, I'd also suggest Alice, White Rabbit, and Mouse's Long and Sad Tale from the Mad Tea Party collection as good summery oils. They're all light florals with something more underpinning them, and they don't get heavy or oppressive the way that resins or spices can feel on me in the summer humidity.

 

I'd also suggest Dragon's Eye in the same vein, as the lilacs make it perfect spring florals on me, with the dragon's blood resin just acting to lightly anchor the scent.

 

Shanghi on me was straight green tea, no citrus or honeysuckle. It works well as a fresh clean scent. Others in that same category include Dirty or Zephyr, though I haven't tried either of those two yet, they're supposed to be very light, more like wearing something that smells like fresh air and clean clothing than wearing an actual perfume.

[Beckiemort]

It's been quite warm here (Vancouver, Canada) lately and I can't get enough of Mlle. Lilith - that scent just screams warm weather to me. It's a little tropical but utterly light and beautiful. Plus the note that bothered my nose when I first got it has softened and the scnet is amazing now. Cheshire Cat is another scent that is getting a bit of wear with the warmer weather, all citrus-y and fruity with a chamomile calmness...yum

[reconditarmonia]

Thanks!